“My survival has largely been fueled by hope of a second chance at life, and I am living proof that youthful offenders are not beyond hope or rehabilitation.” Chon Dimas, sentenced to 75 years at 17 years old
On October 27th and 28th, TCJC was at the Texas Book Festival, along with family members directly impacted by youth incarceration, talking with people from all over the state about the Second Look Book. This book is a collection of stories from people who were sentenced as kids to extreme terms in adult prisons in Texas, and the online version is available for FREE on our website.
It is wrong to deny a child the opportunity to demonstrate rehabilitation. However, in Texas, kids who are sentenced to an adult prison can serve 40 years before being eligible for parole; our laws currently provide no viable mechanism for reviewing a case after a young person has grown up and matured. We talked with hundreds of people who agreed that Texas should consider joining with the vast majority of other states, which provide an earlier parole hearing focused on the extent to which the person has demonstrated that they merit a second chance. Such an early parole consideration will not only give some people the opportunity to be released sooner, saving massive taxpayer dollars spent on incarceration — it will do so without compromising public safety.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by our exhibit booth! You can learn more about Second Look here.
Photos from the Event
